*** EXERPTS FROM SLIDES PRESENTED TO TWU EXECUTIVE BY GEORGE
HOLMS, OPERATIONS 95 DIRECTOR AT BC TEL. In conjunction with the
BCTRURAL.DOC file, this file illustrates BC Tel's plans behind
their apparent oppostion to the Unitel application at the CRTC to
enter the LD market. Where possible comments which are strictly
of an industrial relations nature have been deleted, as have
(necessarily) graphics and other 'attractions' of these slide
based presentations. -- jrw***
Survival* Through the 90's
* Dictionary Definition: "Survival" To continue to live and exist
after a catastrophic incident.
■ The threat is real
■ Our main source of revenue is treatened
■ We need to change now
How do we do this???
■ Re-price basic local exchange service
■ Change applications from free to chargeable
■ Increase price of services that are conducted at less
than cost
■ Re-configure operations with minimal disruption to
people
When do we do this???
Urgent that we start now!
OPERATIONS '95 PROJECTS
■ Common Call Distribution
■ Phone Mart
■ Sales by Phone/Segmentation
■ Inside Wire
■ RNCC
■ Soft Dial Tone
■ RIDs
■ OP Engineering
■ Construction
■ Billing and Remittance
(Editors Note: Aspects of all of these have some industrial
relations component. In areas that are explained or copied from
BC Tel documents the industrial relations component will be
separated out, where possible. Projects like Sales by
Phone/Segmentation, RNCC, Soft Dial Tone, OP Engineering and
Construction have significant industrial relations concerns which
are beyond the scope of this discussion.)
COMMON CALL DISTRIBUTION (Edited)
■ Progressively link to Common Provincial ACD
- Repair Answer
- Business Account Reps
- Overdue Accounts
- Residence Account Reps
■Voice Response System
- Currently used in Lower Mainland for Phone Mart
listed numbers.
- Type and availability of other applications
undetermined.
(Editors Comment: For those who don't know an ACD is, it is the
machine which answers phones with something like: "All our
representatives are busy right now, please hold until we get to
you. Please do not call back again as the calls are answered in
order." Callers are often left holding, listening to muzak for a
number of minutes before, finally, getting through to either a
person or a VRS.
A voice response system is similar to that used on the Talking
Yellow Pages or most VoiceMail systems, which is to say that
after waiting on the ACD the caller is presented with a series of
menus which require a response by pushing a button on the phone.
The amount of human interaction is kept to a minimum and may
often be discouraged by the system.)
INSIDE WIRE
(Editors Comment: As part of Operations '95 BC tel plans to get
out of the business of installing and maintaining wire inside a
premises. This is considered to be the wire(s) which extend from
the residence protector (fuse) to the set(s).)
■ American companies got our of inside wire and laid off
employees
■ When they re-entered as a business thrust, many
customers found they could live without a maintenance
contract.
■ Southern Bell took 2ź years to get a 60% penetration
■ Southern Bell said, "if they had it to do over, they
would have exioted and offered contract at that time."
■ We may miss opportunity for a good business
REMOTE ISOLATION DEVICE
■ Applications and use undetermined
(Editors Comment: This is a test device which will allow BC Tel
to get out of the inside wiring business by allowing testing to
only the protector. No device has, as yet, been chosen.)
BILLING AND REMITTANCE
■ Concerns
- Costs of billing extremely high
- Cost of remittance for those paid in Phone
Marts are extremely high
■ Way Forward
- Once again, explore possibility of shared
billing
- Establish alternate payment agencies
(Editors Comment: Also being considered is some form of automated
teller similar to bank machines.)
PHONE MART CONCERNS
■ High cost
■ Service oriented
■ Wrong customer attracted
■ Incomplete product line
■ Continue to lose market share in retail sets
■ Retail and lease extremely vulnerable to AT&T type
competition
PHONE MART
■ Way foreward
- Pursue alternate payment agencies
- Trial a new type of store in metropolitan area
(Editors Note: The "Super" Phone Mart trial store is currently
being planned for Richmond. Unwritten is BC Tel's intent to
close all other Phone Marts in the Metropolitan area if the trial
is successful.)
(Also includled in BC Tel's Operations '95 package is a summary of
an article from the Financial Post dates December 21, 1990. It
is reproduced here without change. Ed.)
FIRST MAJOR U.S. CARRIER CRACKS CANADA
■ A MAJOR U.S. telephone company, US Sprint Communications Co.,
is poised to get into the Canadian long-distance business, acting
as a distributor for Unitel Communications Inc.
■ US Sprint, based in Kansas City, Mo., is the third largest US
long distance carrier. It would be the first US carrier to set
up in Canada, but many expect giant American Telephone and
Telegraph Co. and MCI Communications Corp. to follow -- which
would drastically change the Canadian phone business.
■ With its aggressive marketing skills, US Sprint could threaten
the Canadian resellers as well as established phone companies.
■ "I think US Sprint would be a major competitive challenge for
Bell Canada," added one source.
■ Industry sources said US Sprint is already recruiting employees
to head Sprint Canada, a new subsidiary which recently opened a
Toronto office.